Call for Community and Economic Development Practitioners

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) is issuing a call for well-qualified persons to serve as application reviewers for the calendar year (CY) 2024-2025 round of the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program).

The CDFI Fund has contracted with Areeva Solutions to recruit reviewers. Recruitment will be conducted by Areeva Solutions on a rolling basis until 5:00 pm, EST on Monday, December 2, 2024.

General Candidate Qualifications:

The CDFI Fund and Areeva Solutions are seeking qualified candidates to review CY 2024 – 2025 NMTC Program Allocation Applications. Generally, the strongest reviewer candidates will have: expertise in community and economic development finance; direct experience with the NMTC Program or other tax credit programs such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and Historic Tax Credit programs; experience underwriting or originating operating business or commercial real estate loans and investments; experience financing community-based organizations; experience evaluating community and economic development investments or entities; financial counseling experience, particularly for small businesses; or prior experience serving as an NMTC application reviewer. Candidates with community and economic development experience with Native communities are especially encouraged to apply.

Reviewer candidates will be evaluated and selected at the CDFI Fund’s discretion, based on a review of their individual qualifications. Please note that reviewer candidates will be subject to a detailed Conflict of Interest screening and will not be allowed to review if: (1) there is a financial interest in an applicant; (2) they assisted in preparing an application; or (3) if they are an officer, employee, or consultant of an applicant.

Period and Location of Service:

Application reviews are scheduled to begin in late-February and end in May 2025. The reviews will be completed using a web-based review tool from the reviewer’s chosen remote location. Therefore, reviewers are required to have consistent high-speed internet access.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in applying, please visit our Reviewer Registry site at: www.reviewerregistry.net.

About the NMTC Program

The NMTC Program was established by Congress in 2000 to spur new and increased investments into operating businesses and real estate projects located in low-income communities. The NMTC Program attracts investment capital to low-income communities by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their federal income tax returns in exchange for making equity investments in specialized financial institutions called Community Development Entities (CDEs). The tax credit totals 39 percent of the original investment amount and is claimed over a period of seven years (five percent for each of the first three years, and six percent for each of the remaining four years). The equity investment in the CDE cannot be redeemed before the end of the seven-year period.

Since the NMTC Program's inception, the CDFI Fund has made 1,667 allocation awards totaling $81 billion in tax credit authority to CDEs through the competitive application process. This includes $3 billion in Recovery Act Awards and $1 billion that was specifically set aside for recovery and redevelopment in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. For more information on the NMTC Program, visit www.cdfifund.gov/nmtc.